Promise Me You'll Remember
by Weepingwren
Summary: Luna promises her mother that she will always be herself. Sweet but somewhat sad mother/daughter oriented fic.


**Hello! This is my first story...ever. It goes without saying that none of these characters are mine. Characters courtesy of J.K. Rowling Constructive critisicm is always welcomed as I don't have much confidence in my writing abilities yet. Thanks!**

**-Weepingwren**

Mrs. Lovegood watched expectantly as her five year old daughter Luna ran across the playground, kicking up clouds of red and orange autumn leaves in her wake. Once she reached her mother, Luna leaped into her open arms, tears streaming down her dirt smeared face. Her mother held her close and rubbed gentle circles on Luna's back until her sobs faded into soft hiccups and then finally nothing more than silent tears. Mrs. Lovegood was content to wait quietly, knowing that her daughter would tell her what had caused her such distress when she was ready.

After a few moments, Luna took in a shaky but deep breath "M...m...mum," she stuttered, barely loud enough for Mrs. Lovegood to hear, "Why don't those girls over there like me? I just tried to play house with them, but they told me my dress is ugly and my radish earrings are dumb and I talk funny. They said they didn't want to play with a loony freak like me. I don't want to be a loony freak, Mum."

"Oh, my dear, sweet Luna," her wise mother gently replied, "We live in an imperfect world full of imperfect people, and we're all just trying to find a place to belong somehow. Those girls don't dislike you, per say, they just don't know how to understand someone as unique as you. You see, when other people say nasty things about you, it points to their own personal fears. Those girls are afraid of being seen as ugly or dumb or different because we live in a nasty world where we don't all just accept each other as we are. They mistakenly think that if they can make you look and feel like you're somehow less than they are, they won't have to feel as poorly about themselves."

Luna scrunched her forehead for a few moments, deep in thought. Mrs. Lovegood watched patiently as evidence that Luna understood what she had said slowly made its way across her face. "You mean," she whispered almost reverently, "That when someone is mean to me or tries to make me feel bad, that I should feel badly for them instead because it really means that person is struggling?"

Mrs. Lovegood was by no means surprised that her incredibly perceptive five year old could understand something so far beyond the level of many of her peers. "Yes, my sweet Luna, that is exactly what I mean. Always be yourself. You are perfect just the way you are with all your quirks. There has never before been someone just like you, and there never will be another person just like you. Promise me that no matter what, you'll always remember what I've told you today." Luna looked turned her swollen, red eyes up to her mother and solemnly whispered, "I promise, Mum."

Years passed by, and though Luna grew and changed, she never forgot the conversation she had with her mother in a muggle park on that fall afternoon or her promise to remember what her mother had said. As Luna turned six, then seven, eight, and nine, she began to become an individual cut from a different kind of cloth. She developed an interest in discovering species of magical creatures that other people claimed didn't actually exist. She took long walks in the woods near her house, singing to herself or the animals who were drawn to her peaceful spirit. She loved going on marvelous excursions with her mother and father, but was equally content sitting high up in the trees around her home and sketching the world around her for hours on end.

One hot summer afternoon, Luna walked out the door and down the crooked path to check on her garden patch. She carefully watered and weeded around the area while softly humming to herself. Before long, Luna became quite warm and laid down in the grass to watch the clouds. She found a playful looking fawn, a Peruvian Vipertooth dragon, and a great castle in the sky.

"Luna, dear? Would you mind helping me for a moment?" Luna heard her mother's voice coming from the window up above her. "Coming Mum!" she replied, quickly scrambling to her feet and skipping back up the path to the house. "Would you be a dear and begin making a salad to go with our dinner tonight while I finish up in here? Your father should be home quite soon, but I don't want to stop what I'm working on when I'm so close to figuring this spell out." Mrs. Lovegood said. "All right, Mum, but be careful." Luna busied herself with chopping lettuce, carrots, and radishes from her garden. She proudly put all the vegetables in a salad bowl and tossed them all in together.

Upon hearing the fireplace roar to life, Luna left the kitchen and skipped out to the living room to greet her father, Xenophilius as he stepped out of the floo. "Hello to my beautiful girls!", he sang out in a cheery voice. Luna ran to her father and threw herself into his arms. "I missed you so much while you were gone!" she cried, a smile beaming off her face.

"Let me try this spell one more time, then we'll sit down for dinner," said Mrs. Lovegood. She flicked her wand and a horrible explosion shook the home. Once Xenophilius cleared away the smoke with his wand, Luna had to fight to not faint. Her mother was laying on the ground bleeding heavily out of the deep gashes which covered her body. Luna and her father both rushed to Mrs. Lovegood's. Luna held her mother's one uninjured hand as Xenophilius began to chant healing spells desperately.

With a peace about her countenance that made it hard to believe her life was quite quickly seeping out onto the floor, she turned to her husband and smiled. "Xenophilius, it is no use. You know this just as well as I do. My wounds are too extensive." Looking incredibly shaken, he stammered, "But I must heal you! What would I do without you?" Ignoring his frantic statement, Mrs. Lovegood simply said, "Xenophilius, Luna, I love you both more than life itself. Be strong for each other. I will see you in the after." Then, turning to Luna, she managed to whisper, "Promise me you'll remember." "I promise, Mum." said Luna fervently. At that, Mrs. Lovegood closed her eyes, never again to open them, and Luna always remembered.


End file.
